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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Aug 6, 2023 1:06:57 GMT -5
 
Guinevere frowned at the answer she'd be given, her concerned gaze falling on the unconscious girl. It was oddly quiet without the chaotic girl's commentary. It was so weird to see Luka quiet and still. It was a bit heart wrenching to see the 17-year old so...calm and quiet.
"I guess I'll keep tabs on her then," Guinevere offered Cleo, who nodded back at her.
"Make sure she stays warm until we can do further work," they commanded, and the girl nodded, leaving the room to collect blankets.
Cleo then turned to watch as Lucien handled Chiara, frowning as they watched the boy. They did feel sympathy for him, for it must be horrid to have to take on the pain of others to heal them. Cleo had a much different power, much less controlled and much more natural. They could only detect lies, such as when Lucien had comforted Luka earlier, stating the girl was alright to comfort her. It felt so insignificant in comparison to what Lucien could do, had to do.
When Griffin was about to head out for that water, Griffin and Ariella came in, with Griffin crushing Ariella into a hug. Cleo took that moment to leave the room themselves to go get the waters so Griffin could focus on his friend instead. As they passed, they kept their eyes averted, head tall. Griffin was saying he'd be back, but Cleo interjected, "don't worry, I can handle it. Please make sure Ariella gets prepped for Lucien."
After a few minutes, the two came back with their items. Cleo had multiple cold water bottles shoved into their arms, and Guinevere had an armful of blankets. Fuzzy, fluffy, thick blankets.
Guinevere dropped them as soon as she saw Ariella, running over and realizing she wasn't in a hugging state right then, smiled with watery eyes at her friend, "Ariella, you're back," she said in relief, "we were so concerned!" The girl then started babbling a bit about how concerned she and Griffin had been, her eyes looking over at Theo and smiling, "and Theo, thank you for helping her in here."
Cleo sighed as Guinevere dropped the blankets, throwing the bottles a bit haphazardly onto a table and going over to pick them up. The material was extremely soft feeling, and Guinevere seemed to pick them with care. Cleo knew these came from the main living area, where blankets were stored for movie nights and other foolish things Cleo didn't participate much in. There was a black and green blanket in a plaid pattern, a pastel rainbow one, one with a lion on it, and another golden in color with little cartoon crowns on it. There was another one that had cartoonish suns on it, and Cleo ran their hand softly over that one, as it was on top. Cleo frowned slightly at the stack, placing them gently on a counter, and grabbing the rainbow one, walking over to Chiara after Lucien finished up with her and holding it out for the girl.
"I'm guessing this is yours, based on Guinevere's impeccable taste," they said a bit dryly, hiding any fondness they may have felt behind that hard exterior, "might as well rest up here for a bit, make sure you don't go and die on us yet." |
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 6, 2023 6:29:58 GMT -5
Chiara thanked Lucien, and the boy took that opportunity to take his leave of her so she could rest a little bit. She seemed exhausted, and more than a little unsettled by the difficulties she was having with her arm. He wasn't at all surprised by that.
He'd just been asking how injured Ariella and Theo were when, as if summoned, both entered the Medbay. Griffin and Guinevere had immediately gone over to check on them, particularly Ariella, and Lucien knew he wanted to give them a few moments to talk and catch up. Neither would relax until they knew their friend was okay. Not to mention Lucien himself was happy to take that chance to have a quick break.
The boy noted that Cleo had abandoned the water bottles they'd brought in so they could sort out the blankets Guiney had abandoned in her rush to go and see Ariella. Lucien grabbed the bottles instead and kept one for himself while putting one by each of the four prepped beds, Chiara taking hers gratefully. He tried his best not to look at the unconscious Luka as he put a bottle by her bed.
If he did, he risked unravelling and the others needed him too much for that.
He took a few sips of the water from his own bottle, and damn it if Cleo wasn't right. Sure, the water couldn't exactly fix how he was feeling, but it was already refreshing him a little bit. At least helping to keep him focused and on his feet, which was all they needed in that moment. He could collapse in his room and sleep for several days after this was over.
"Ariella," Lucien looked over to see Chiara calling over to the other girl from her bed, clearly not wanting to crowd Ariella, "Thank you. You were amazing out there."
But he had to end his little break and keep going. Ariella and the others had been given their brief moment to catch up, but he needed to interrupt it now so he could see to her and Theo. There would be plenty of time to talk once Lucien was satisfied both were stable and not in any danger.
So the Apollo champion placed his water bottle to the side and approached the group around Ariella and Theo.
"You guys can stay," he directed this to Guinevere and Griffin "I just need a bit of space for a second, okay?"
He knew they were worried about their friends and he didn't want to upset them, but he needed to remain assertive so he could get the space he needed to assess and help Ariella and Theo. After that he took a moment to look at the two injured ascendants, assessing them as best he could. It didn't take him long to discern that while they were both injured, he needed to focus his attention on Ariella first. She was more injured and clearly needed more urgent attention than Theo did. She was at more immediate risk.
So Lucien addressed Theo, nodding towards one of the prepped beds.
"Rest for a bit," he said to the other boy "I can be with you in just a few minutes."
With that he directed Ariella to a bed and began a more thorough assessment of her injuries. She was bleeding from a lot of different areas, which was concerning, but he was also worried about her shoulder. It looked a bit out of place, and Lucien didn't need any kind of medical degree to recognise a dislocated shoulder when he saw one. It seemed to him like she'd already tried to pop it back into place but it hadn't quite gone smoothly.
"I'm going to have to make sure this is properly in place or when I heal you it won't heal right," Lucien explained to Ariella as he looked over the injury.
The only problem was, how the hell did you pop a dislocated shoulder back in?
Thankfully, he had Apollo in his head.
"Get some ice, cold compress, something." he heard the god say "Reduce any swelling."
Thankfully, when Lucien had prepped the Medbay he knew he had made sure there were ice packs ready in the refrigerator kept in the room to store various supplies that needed to be kept cool. Pascal had told him to always make sure he had some, because you never knew when you might need them. So Lucien stepped away for a moment before returning with just the thing he needed. He warned Ariella it would be cold before gently applying it to the shoulder, trying his very best not to put too much pressure on that might cause her more pain.
Once he'd held it there for a while to let the swelling go down a little bit, he removed it.
"Make sure the muscles around the shoulder are not too tight, or this is going to hurt far more than it needs to." was his guide's next instruction.
Lucien examined the muscles and thankfully, they could be worse. Ariella had already done some of the work for him in terms of putting the shoulder back into place so it was not too bad. However, she was clearly in a lot of pain and the shoulder muscles were tense because of it.
"Sorry, this might hurt but I need to relax these muscles," Lucien said to Ariella, before he as gently as possible spent a few moments massaging the muscles around her shoulder. He didn't want to do it too much at risk of causing her more pain, just enough until the muscles felt more relaxed. The last thing he wanted was them going into spasm and causing her even more pain.
Apollo next directed him on how to get a stable grip on her arm. The boy took Ariella's wrist frimly with one hand and supported her elbow with the other. Lucien winced at the very thought of the pain Ariella was about to have to experience, and spoke to her once again.
"I won't sugarcoat it, this is about to hurt like hell." he said apologetically.
He would have gotten the girl some painkillers, but they didn't have time to wait for something like that to kick in. With the rate she was bleeding he needed to sort out her shoulder so he could heal her immediately. Hopefully at least the ice pack had helped alleviate some of the pain.
"Okay kid, now gently pull the arm in a straight line away from her body. It prepares the joint for relocation. Then rotate the arm inwards toward her body and put a bit of pressure on the shoulder joint to guide it into place."
Lucien did as he was bid, trying to keep the pressure he applied on Ariella's arm and shoulder gentle but steady so as to avoid any further pain for her. He placed his hand on her shoulder as he rotated the arm, putting gentle pressure on the joint. Because Ariella had already got it most of the way, it didn't take long for Lucien to feel a popping sensation beneath his hand as the shoulder popped properly back into place.
He stepped away, taking a deep breath and allowing Ariella a bit of time to recover, before grabbing a sling which he used to quickly immobilise the shoulder. He wasn't amazing at tying it because he had only seen Pascal do it before, but it would do for now. Hopefully his healing would help and she wouldn't need it for too long afterwards.
Now to deal with the more serious issue; she was bleeding from her face, other shoulder and (most worryingly) her thigh. He had to move on this immediately or she was going to be in trouble he wasn't going to be able to fix.
So he lightly laid his hand on the shoulder that was bleeding and closed his eyes for a third time, using his other hand to steady himself against the bed because if healing Luka had told him anything, he was going to need the stability.
It took a little longer for the healing powers to start to work this time, the first sure sign that Lucien was beginning to overstretch his abilities. But surely enough, eventually, he felt that golden light washing through him and soon followed by a wave of pain. Pain to his face, collarbone, both shoulders and just about everywhere. He was glad he had chosen to support himself against the bed because one leg was so painful he wasn't sure he'd be holding himself up if it weren't for his hand bracing himself.
Ariella had clearly taken a lot of hits out there. She had been a true anchor in this fight, supporting everyone and making some of the most ambitious attacks against Fenrir. But she'd paid for that in the injuries he was healing in that moment.
Once the pain faded, Lucien opened his eyes once again to take in Ariella. Her injuries looked a lot better, but he didn't doubt she was still exhausted and in pain. Lucien's own head was beginning to hurt now, that splitting feeling in his skull telling him he was getting close to his limits. He remembered the last time he had overstretched his abilities, that feeling like hunger pangs but in his very cells, that strange sensation like his body was being fried at a molecular level. He could not take it much further than this if he didn't want to be as bad as he had been before.
"Get some rest," he told her, stepping away a little so she could rest and Guinevere and Griffin could return to her side if she wanted "Let your shoulder rest in the sling a while until it feels a bit stronger."
Meanwhile Chiara had accepted the blanket from Cleo, offering the other ascendant a tired smile.
"Thank you," she said softly, "I'm sorry today didn't go better. I think we were hoping to see some sign of..."
She didn't need to say it. Some sign of the kidnapped ascendants. But nothing. Were they even alive? She wasn't sure, but she thought the exiled would be stupid not to use them as leverage in some way. But of course, that was no guarantee of anything.
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 6, 2023 18:57:12 GMT -5
As Theo walked into the Medbay with the taller girl, he was immediately met with surprise when Griffin rushed towards them and hugged Ariella. The suddenness of the action was enough to unbalance the Baldr champion’s balance and he tumbled onto the ground. He took a breath in, followed by a long, pained exhale.
“You know I actually like laying on the ground,” Theo muttered sarcastically as he laid on the ground, taking the time to examine the room around him. From what he could tell, Luka and Chiara were laying in the beds, Lucien looked 5 seconds away from passing out, and just as he was wondering where everyone else was, Cleo and Guinevere entered the room with water bottles and blankets. The latter of which ended up dropping the blankets on him at the sight of her friend.
Guiney took the moment to thank him for helping Ariella get to the Medbay, and the boy simply waved his hand, “It's uh, the least I could do.” Considering she'd pushed herself so hard to save all of their lives, he did believe that. She did seem more useful than he was.
With his other hand, he lightly pushed most of the blankets off, and while Cleo started to pick them up, Theo held onto the one he assumed was for him. His attention was soon caught by Lucien, who pointed him to one of the beds while he worked with Hercules’ champion. While he didn’t feel injured enough to justify a check-up, he figured it would be more work to walk back to his room than spend the night here.
So Theo picked himself up to the best of his ability, and crashed onto one of the prepared beds, covering himself with the blanket in the process. The bed helped ease his achiness somewhat, and after all that happened, a soft blanket felt comforting.
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Demisexual
Leo
Surviving off Thai tea and Miguel O'hara
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Post by Leo on Aug 7, 2023 17:00:20 GMT -5
Ariella reached a hand out and took Guinevere's in her own, squeezing it gently and smiling brightly. Letting the other girl know she was ok and didn't have to be scared to touch her. She wasn't like bull-in-a-china-shop Griffin coming in charging for a hug.
Heracles's champion turned towards Chiara and shook her head slightly. "Theo's the real hero. We really couldn't have made it home without him," she countered, smiling sheepishly. Yeah she'd helped in the only ways she knew how but Theo was the one that kept the wolf from moving and causing more damage. He even got the wolf to put Chiara down so they could get to her. He created the openings and distractions they needed to get out of there.
When it came time for her turn to be healed, she simply nodded and gripped onto Griffin's wrist to keep still. Wasn't like he'd be hurt with his enhanced skin. Griffin held onto her hand in return as he watched Lucien massage and pop her shoulder back into place. She gritted her teeth and smiled bitterly at the floor.
It hurt, but not as much as the wolf's teeth did.
Once the rest of her body was majority healed she tested her weight on her leg. Better but still hurt a lot. She'd need to rest for a couple days.
Looking at Lucien she smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks," she muttered quietly and glanced over to where Theo had laid himself. Next to Chiara and Luka. "I'm ok. You need to take it easy now. You got most of us," she said a little more sternly. They couldn't worry about their healer too. He was just as important as everyone else here.
Squeezing both Griffin and Guinevere's arms she limped her way over to the bed next to Theo's and collapsed into it with a heavy sigh. Laying on her stomach she turned her attention to Theo and raised a fist out towards him.
"Hey," she said tiredly, her voice already sounding just as exhausted as she felt. She glanced between her fist and her friend expecting him to fist bump her back. "Thank you."
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Post by 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 on Aug 8, 2023 9:02:42 GMT -5
Cleo glanced at Chiara after giving the girl the blankets, their eyes settling from her and then to Luka, sighing softly "there's nothing that could have been done," they commented, shaking their head, "I'm just glad you're all alive."
As they spoke, they glanced at Luka, the girl looked exhausted, her cuts now healed, but a bloody mess on her shirt and pants. Blood was smeared across her forehead too, from the scratch that was there before. The girl looked cold, and Cleo sighed, standing up and walking to grab the green blanket, before placing it over Luka. They frowned as they looked at the girl, clammy skin and feeling cold to the touch.
They glanced around, frowning. Lucien said he'd handle that situation, so they walked away, making sure to distribute the rest of the blankets.
It didn't escape their attention that all of these kids on the mission were missing on the day the others were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, Guinevere helped Ariella to the bed, smiling softly, "all of you need rest, so feel free to ask us if you need anything. It can be like a sleepover!"
She was trying to alleviate the stress of the situation, and smiled softly, "we can make the room a bit less...clinical too, get some games and movies, on case you wake up and get bored."
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 8, 2023 10:03:38 GMT -5
Lucien nodded at Ariella’s thanks and her instruction to take it easy. He knew he should, of course he did. Even Apollo was saying so. But it was hard to feel like he could do that when he was so aware that in Pascal’s absence he was the only one who could help those who were hurt.
It was stupid to think like that, he knew it wasn’t logical. With him being the only healer he knew he did need to take care of himself. He had a feeling it would take a lot of time and soul-searching for him to properly figure out how to balance his own needs with his abilities.
He paused for a little while, taking some more sips of his water to try and keep himself on his feet and perhaps help his headache. He was getting tired now, he could feel it, but he had one last person to check on before he returned to Luka.
So he next turned his attention to Theo, who was resting next to Ariella.
“Hey, man,” he greeted Theo ”You okay? I can heal you a little or even just get you some painkillers if you want?”
He thought he should at least offer even if Theo didn’t want it. And there were ways of helping him feel better without using Lucien’s healing abilities if he did not feel like he wanted to make use of them.
—
Chiara had only nodded at Cleo’s words, with her good arm pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders and concealing the new freshly-healed injury marring her arm.
“Me too,” was all Chiara said in answer, before the other ascendant disappeared to go and aid Luka.
But the girl had noted what Ariella had said earlier in response to Chiara’s praise, and so the girl rose to her feet to approach Theo. She paused to briefly lay her good hand on his shoulder.
”Ariella’s right, by the way,” Chiara said to the boy, ”You were great. Thank you, Theo.”
Both Ariella and Theo had taken a significant part in saving Chiara from Fenrir, as well as so much more they’d done throughout the fight.
”You saved mine and Luka’s lives tonight.” Chiara pointed out
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 8, 2023 19:19:19 GMT -5
Theo blinked at Ariella, processing the words she had said about him. A hero? No, that couldn’t be right. A few curt laughs escaped his lips, “You’re joking, right? Ah, that’s funny, Good one-” His laughing was cut short when he realized she wasn’t laughing, neither was anyone else.
Oh gods, she was serious.
“That’s not true, you guys probably could have gotten home faster if…” his words trailed off as he spoke, with a mixture of uncertainty and distaste. It was a dumb argument and he knew it, and his expression showed he didn’t believe what he was saying either. Instead he moved on to a different statement.
“Well, I didn’t hit the son of a bitch in the eye or set him on fire.”
Yeah, not exactly a better argument, but one nonetheless. Compared to what others could do, he was just not impressive. All he did was embarrass himself and run away while everyone sustained terrible injuries. He couldn’t even get Fenrir to drop Luka on his own, and she was doing the worst out of all of them.
It felt awful, but the worst part was feeling gratitude that what he’d done was appreciated. Ariella’s words felt genuine and even he knew he did what he could to help them get out alive. Things could have been so much worse for them. He felt good that they were alive. It felt good that he was finally useful, and he hated that it took this situation to feel that way.
Theo tried his best to hold himself together regardless of his conflicting thoughts. He watched Ariella get healed, wincing because something looked painful, but otherwise remained composed. That was until Chiara walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You were great. Thank you, Theo.”
Emotions began piling on and Theo had to bite his mouth shut into a weak smile. His expression was pained from trying to hold back tears. He didn’t dare look at her or speak, instead choosing to nod his head to her words and gently tap her hand with his. The next thing he felt was his eyes burning. Then tears. They cascaded down his face like two harsh rivers, and the only words Theo could croak out in response to Chiara was, “Yeah, that’s cool.”
Dear gods he felt pathetic. The only thing Theo could do to stop people from staring at him was to shove his face against the bed and bury himself in his blanket. The only sounds that could be heard from him were incoherent mutterings and whines. He only reemerged when Ariella extended her hand to a fist bump, but only barely. Only his puffy eyes looked out at her before he removed his own arm from the blanket to return the bump. When Lucien came around, Theo hid himself once again, only keeping his arm out to wave the boy away.
“I’m fantastic,” his voice cracked as he spoke, “I don’t need healing, and pain meds don’t work…”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 9, 2023 3:35:59 GMT -5
Lucien could definitely say he’d seen more bizarre things since he became an Ascendant than Theo hiding away under a blanket. The boy was waving Lucien away, and the teenager was happy to oblige if he were honest. Theo sounded emotional, and Lucien honestly didn’t know how to handle an emotional Theo. He didn’t want to risk making things any worse; Lucien wasn’t all that great at feelings.
So leave he would.
”Okay,” Lucien replied uncertainly ”Well if you change your mind you tell me, okay?”
As much as he would like to insist Theo get healing, he couldn’t force him. Nor did he really have the time to argue with him; he needed to help Luka.
With that reminder, he left the boy and returned to his unconscious friend. Her injuries were no longer actively bleeding, but she didn’t look good. He swallowed, noting how pale she looked. How cool and clammy her skin. How fast and shallow her breathing, despite the fact that she was unconscious.
He couldn’t think about it. Could not let how his every instinct wanted him to react take over. But god he wanted to let himself be terrified for her. He just had no time.
He’d healed her, but her body needed to replenish the blood it had lost, and quickly. Lucien knew Luka needed some intervention, some help, but he knew nothing about what to do with blood loss aside from stopping the bleeding. Especially with his head being so fuzzy.
Then a memory popped into his mind, clearer than any of the muddled thoughts whirling through it. It was like switching a light on. Pascal had said something once about excessive blood loss. What was it?
An IV. Luka needed a saline IV - and fast. Yet another thing he didn’t think he knew how to do.
Still, he had no doubt that he had to try. For Luka.
He disappeared to collect various supplies from around the room and from the supply room down the hallway. When he returned, his arms were full with supplies which he set out by Luka’s bed. Thank the gods for Apollo’s direction.
His heart was racing, the boy having no clue how on earth to even start with setting up an IV. But the god came through for Lucien one more time. His voice sounded again in Lucien’s head, so calm and more comforting than Lucien had ever heard him, as he talked Lucien through each step.
The boy started by washing his hands and putting on a pair of gloves. Then he grabbed a tourniquet, lifting Luka’s arm to apply it and pull it as tight as Apollo directed. To make her veins easier to find, the god had said. His next step was to feel her arm for a suitable vein, which the god helped him to select. The god even taught him how to gently flick the vein to release histamines under the skin and make the vein dilate so it was easier to identify. Lucien then wiped the area down with an antiseptic wipe.
He hung the IV bag from a drip stand - the gods had apparently supplied the Medbay almost as well as most hospitals - and flushed the tubing with saline according to Apollo’s instruction, checking for bubbles and carefully tapping the line to remove any that formed. Finally, he removed the needle cap.
Next was the part he was most scared for. But it was just one more push, one more thing he had to do until he could be done. Until Luka could be okay.
”You’re doing well.” Apollo was saying ”Let’s just do this one last thing, okay?”
Lucien continued to follow the god’s instructions, using his right (non-dominant) hand to hold the skin taut over the vein. He’d had to pause, to take a deep breath and calm his shaking hand, before inserting the needle.
He’d had quite a few scary experiences to say the least, but he has to say that putting an IV in his unconscious best friend with no experience was actually up there. Go figure.
Once Apollo had directed him as to when to stop and how to ensure that everything was properly inserted, the needle retracted and tourniquet removed as appropriate, Lucien ensured the catheter was fully connected and started the saline drip. Slowly, though, especially at first: Apollo had warned him of the importance of protecting the vein.
His final step was to carefully secure the IV with tape and gauze, after which the boy stepped back with an anxious exhale and removed his gloves. It was only at that point he allowed his nerves for his friend to kick in. He perched on the next bed, which was not one of the ones he had prepped, so he could keep an eye on Luka and be able to quickly move to her side without crowding her too much.
The boy took some deep breaths, finally properly registering how dizzy he was and how much his head was hurting. He’d been running on adrenaline ever since the others arrived, especially with his desire to help Luka.
She was his best friend. The only person there apart from probably River in whom he had a complete and unconditional trust. He could not abide the creeping fear that what he’d done might not be enough to help her.
”I’m proud of you, kid.” Apollo was saying ”You did well.”
Praise from Apollo was not so common. He seemed to expect more of Lucien than he thought he was capable of. Which in some ways he quite liked, because he was so used to people having low expectations of him, even if it could be hard sometimes.
And it made that comment that much more meaningful.
____
Chiara hadn’t meant to make Theo cry, but she didn’t want to push it any further. He was exhausted and in pain and now didn’t seem like the time to unpack why the deserved praise had made him so emotional.
So as he disappeared under the blanket, emerging only to return Ariella’s fist bump and wave Lucien away, Chiara stepped away to give him a little bit of space.
”You’re okay, Theo. Get some rest.” the girl said softly, before returning gratefully to the bed she’d been assigned (and the rainbow blanket, of course) in the hopes of being able to follow her own advice.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 13, 2023 15:15:22 GMT -5
RANDOM WRITING - NOT NECESSARILY CANON You have three new messages. Playing messages.
_
“Lucien, when I see you, you’d better have a pretty damn good explanation for why mom just got a call from the school about yet another fight. You know as well as I do that she does not need extra stress right now, and I’ve had to deal with her calling me about it at work. I could have gotten fired for taking personal phone calls, and you know how badly we need me to keep this job.
I’m furious with you. You know, I try and keep everything going smoothly. I make sure all your school letters are signed, I make sure you’re never late. The least you could do is not throw that back in my face.
They’ve had to call the police, which doesn’t surprise me after all the fighting, the skipping school, the damaging school property. I still have a few hours of work, so you’re going to have to stew in the station until I can get you. I’ll handle mom, though god knows I should be making you do it, but you and I will be having a very serious conversation about this on the way home. I don’t know why you have to fight me so much, why you seem to go out of your way sometimes to make everything more difficult.
I don’t know what to do with you, Lucien. We can’t go on like this.”
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“Hey, Fairfax, where were you at practice today? You have no idea how pissed Jake is. It’d be funny any other day but he was already in a shitty mood because Beck broke an amp.
I know you said you were quitting, Fax, but you never actually mean that. If you’re bluffing it’s not funny. I know Jake can be an arrogant asshole but it doesn’t mean you have to screw the rest of us over just because you’re fighting. You know it’s pointless waiting for him to be the bigger person, so for our sakes please just call him and sort it the hell out so we don’t have to be in the middle of this shit anymore.
Whatever, we’re meant to be having practice at yours next week so if you’re still planning on being pissed at Jake then, do me a favour and give us some notice so we can go somewhere else.
Look, I gotta go. Just call me back and let me know what’s going on. Everyone’s saying you were in a fight or some shit today so I don’t know if you’re grounded or whatever, but you weren’t talking to any of us all day anyway so…
Anyway, Beck is saying something about having your chem homework or something if you want it. Talk later Fax.”
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“Ugh the police might have your phone - which you shouldn’t have had in class anyway but that’s another conversation. Whatever. You might not hear this until you pitch back up. Which you had better do. I swear to god, Luci, when you get your ass back here I’m going to kill you.
Look, whatever happened, we can sort it out. I’m not happy about it, the police sure as hell aren’t happy about it, but we can fix it. They were responsible for your care, so they’re not off the hook either, and they shouldn’t have spoken a word to you until we could get mom or I there with you. I don’t know what they said to you but you were never in any really serious trouble. You’re still not now, or you don’t have to be at least.
You’re scaring me. Whatever’s going on, get in contact with me or mom, or one of your friends even. If you come back nothing’s going to happen. We just want to know you’re okay. Get in contact with someone somehow and say something.
You can’t do this to mom, Lucien.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 17, 2023 18:27:33 GMT -5
FUTURE WRITING - NOT NECESSARILY CANON Lucien had been trying to take a much needed moment to himself when he heard the garbled, rushed voices over the intercom. At first he thought he must have misheard what they were saying, because there was no way they’d said what he thought they’d said. But a few moments later, a crackly voice spoke again and confirmed he’d heard right.
More people?
There was no way the gods thought it was sensible to bring more people into this mess. There was already enough of a dangerous mix of angst and supernatural powers without involving more people. But then, he’d learned that the gods generally could not be described as sensible.
He left his room, abandoning his attempt to have five minutes of peace. He’d never been optimistic about it being successful anyway. The boy ran down the hallways, feet pounding as doorways emblazoned with golden symbols flashed past him, until he eventually reached the very same room in which he and the others had appeared in this place on that June evening.
He hadn’t known what to expect; he knew new arrivals would be confused surely, but he didn’t know what situation they had just been removed from. Some might need more help than others, and he’d moved with such urgency after hearing the call knowing that he needed to be prepared for the idea that some might even need a quick visit to Medbay.
Despite his quick response, it appeared that he was nowhere near the first ascendant there. He could barely see the new people for the small crowd of ascendants who blocked his view when he entered. A cacophony of different voices washed over him from the chaotic scene before him. Some voices cut into him with a jagged, shrill panic. Others were hesitant, halting, confused. Some, the voices of his friends, were providing a constant low thrum of comforting speech. He caught a flash of Dillon in the thick of it, and realised he was one of the voices he’d heard over the intercom. Cleo too, he was sure, but the room was so busy he hadn’t spotted them yet.
He approached the small knot of people, doing his best to navigate and get some view of what was going on. That was when somebody moved and he caught a glimpse of one of the new arrivals in the eye of this little storm.
It had to only have been a second or two that he had even a slightly clear view, but it felt like time slowed down. The blonde hair that was a slightly warmer, more buttery shade than his. The face that he’d always refused to admit looked anything like his when the two were compared. The grey-blue eyes that he was always used to seeing look tired, or disappointed, or mostly both. He knew her, he knew the way sleepless nights and overdue bills and empty refrigerators had etched themselves in stress into that familiar face. A face he’d never expected to see again.
He could swear his heart dropped to his feet.
The boy wasn’t aware he’d even made any effort to speak, he was fairly sure he wouldn’t have been capable of it if he’d tried to summon any words, and yet it was most definitely his voice saying her name.
”Elara?”
His voice seemed to cut through the noise, a hush falling after the name as eyes turned to him. The crowd of his friends seemed to part a little, allowing him a clearer view of the familiar newcomer.
She seemed withdrawn, he thought in the first moments he got a clearer look at her. She might look calm externally, but Lucien knew her better than that. He could tell when she was afraid or overwhelmed. She had a distant look in her eyes, which told him everything about how much shock she must be in. Her expression was neutral, but Lucien could see beyond that. He could see the tension, how tightly she held her shoulders. She always did that when she was nervous; look calm but hold herself so tensely it was like he half-expected her bones to snap.
But she laid eyes on him, and he couldn’t describe the emotions that crossed across her face. But he imagined his own expression looked not a million miles different from hers. Her distant expression seemed to morph to shock and then to relief in seconds.
Lucien couldn’t form any further words but he didn’t need to. After a moment for Elara to fully register what she was seeing, the girl closed the gap between the pair at a speed Lucien was sure could’ve broken one or two Olympic sprinting records.
Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, at which Lucien himself tensed at first. Being hugged was something he was not particularly used to. But when he relaxed, he could feel the way she was shaking. The relief was coming off her in floods.
He was so dazed he barely could follow what she was saying when she released him. She held him at arm’s length, checking he was okay it would seem, and he realised moments after she’d done it that she’d pushed some hair back from his face so she could see it properly just the way his mother always used to do. As soon as she was satisfied he was alright, she began giving him an earful about something. He was too preoccupied with taking in that she was actually there to take in the details, but he knew she was scolding him for disappearing like that. Telling him how stressed and worried she’d been, what him vanishing had done to his poor mother. And going into detail about how useless the police had been, which was news to nobody.
Also, he suddenly thought, when did she get these glasses?
He was numb and pretty much speechless. He couldn’t believe she was here. But, the terrible thought hit him, what kind of danger did that mean she was in?
Lucien was aware of one of his friends asking him who she was. It took him a moment before be could even say anything, shaking his head at first in shock as he looked again at the face he knew so well.
”My sister.”
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 22, 2023 14:33:20 GMT -5
It was many hours later, and the dim medbay lay still and quiet. The injured group and Lucien laid in their beds, a couple of stragglers chose to sleep on the floor. Everyone appeared to be asleep.
Except for Theodore, as he slowly raised his head from his blanket and let out a soft yawn. Resting his head back down on his pillow, he looked out into the room with tired eyes. Through the fit of sobs and the aches his body felt, he didn’t feel particularly rested. He briefly checked the time and let out a breath. A little past 5, and with how close it was to daylight hours, it was unlikely he’d be able to get more sleep for a while.
Sitting up in his bed, the young man stretched out his arms, wincing when he felt something pinch in his back. The pain was immediate but it soon dulled to something more bearable. He rubbed the lower part of his spine with a hand before slowly making his way to the end of the bed. Gods he felt old.
When his feet touched the floor, Theo made a mental note of where things were in the room. At the foot of Ariella’s bed and spilling into the front of his own, there were blankets and sheets cushioning a passed out Griffin and Guinivere. They made a cute couple, but unfortunately their positioning made it hard to just walk by. Especially when trying to be quiet. So he took it slow, tip-toeing around the two of them until he was free to make it to the door. With a few more silent steps, he was out of the room.
As he walked down the hallway, the boy thought about what he could do while he waited for other people to wake. Maybe some bed in breakfast for the rest of the group? Enzo wasn’t around to prepare food like he usually was, and Theo wasn’t a cook either, but he doubted people would be picky if he just put together some bowls of cereal.
Besides, food was perfect bribery material so hopefully people wouldn’t talk about what he did last night! Great.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 22, 2023 15:30:00 GMT -5
After the stressful night everyone had just had, it seemed that pretty much nobody felt good enough to get themselves back to their own beds. Or perhaps everything just seemed a little less scary for one night if they were all together.
Chiara’s sleep was deep, but not necessarily in a pleasant way. That kind of deep sleep that made you somehow feel worse waking up after it, like a hangover or something. She felt like she could probably have done with a dozen hours more sleep, but judging by the dim light when she opened her eyes morning was approaching far too quickly.
She sat up in the (surprisingly comfy, actually) little bed in the Medbay, still wrapped in that blanket Cleo had given them earlier. A quick check of the time confirmed that it was around 5 AM, which meant she didn’t have good chances of getting a lot more sleep.
She scanned the room, taking in the sleeping figures. Ariella in her bed, Luka in hers. Lucien lay on the bed next to Luka’s, rolled on his side with one hand practically draped over the edge of the bed. He’d slept very deeply that night, exhausted after being stretched to the limits of his powers.
Theo’s bed was empty, which was curious, but the girl noted Griffin and Guinevere together on the floor. As many extra pillows and blankets from the stores had been gathered to make the pair comfortable as possible, and with how sound asleep they were they really did seem to have somehow made the floor look comfy.
The girl then looked to her right arm, lifting the sleeve of her shirt to reveal her bicep, now mangled even further by Fenrir. She ran the fingers of her left hand over the scars, feeling the dips and valleys of the puncture marks from the wolf’s teeth. She wished last night had been some kind of nightmare, but it hadn’t been. And gods did she wish she’d handled seeing Fenrir again better than she had. Perhaps then she wouldn’t have almost lost her arm a second time, if she’d just kept her head. Not her finest moment.
She sighed lightly, but soon noticed just how dry her throat felt. In all honesty her whole body was aching, her head pounding and her throat scratchy. It seemed that Lucien’s healing powers hadn’t entirely saved her from feeling a bit rough the next morning.
A glass of water. She needed a glass of water, the water bottle she’d been given from last night now being empty.
So she dragged herself on at first rather unsteady feet out of bed. Yes, a glass of water. And maybe she could source out her brush after that, because she could already feel her hair was in need of it.
The blonde manoeuvred her way around the sleeping Guinevere and Griffin and headed for the door, though she noticed Lucien move a little as she passed. The first sign he might be stirring sometime soon. She didn’t want to wake the teen, nor Guinevere and Griffin or Ariella, so she crept as quietly to the door as she could. Which, given her enhanced hearing and ability to pick up on small noises, was very quiet indeed.
She had a lot of experience sneaking past her dad without waking him, anyway.
Having left the Medbay, she made her way to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway in surprise when she saw that Theo was there. The two of them knew eachother of course, but she wouldn’t have said they’d interacted a lot. At least not one-on-one.
But this was good, actually. She’d been worried about him last night, and if there was any time to talk about it this was it.
”Oh, hey,” she greeted, softly so she didn’t startle Theo, as she entered the room, ”morning.”
She wasn’t going to say good morning. In no sense could this be described as a good morning. Although she supposed they were pretty lucky they weren’t dead, so maybe the fact they were alive made it a good morning? Maybe a stretch.
She opened a cupboard near him to grab a glass, using her left arm because she didn’t trust her right one yet. Chiara put the glass on the counter and glanced at Theo. He must have come into the kitchen to sort out some food or something, so if she offered to help that would be nice and also offer a pretext for talking, right? See, she could do social interactions.
”Do you want any help or anything?” the girl offered.
Her water could wait for a little bit.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 22, 2023 16:59:22 GMT -5
After healing everyone, Lucien had been frankly too exhausted to go back to his own bed. Despite Cleo’s attempts to both metaphorically and literally drag him to his own bed, he’d been determined not to leave Luka’s side. He was too worried about her and the others to go back to his own room.
Besides with the corridor so empty now after the kidnapping, sleeping in his own room didn’t feel the same as it used to.
When he awoke, one of the first things he noted was that someone had laid a blanket over him. The one with the little cartoon suns. It was probably Cleo, he couldn’t help but think. That was a surprisingly caring move from them.
It was clearly still early, but he didn’t see himself getting much more sleep. He was actually surprised Apollo hadn’t made his usual fuss about the sunrise, but maybe he’d decided to actually be nice and let Lucien sleep a little bit longer for once given how tired he was.
But gods did he feel terrible. When he sat up he was hit with an awful headache, and a flu-like grogginess which he wasn’t particularly enjoying. The aftermath of overstretching his powers. Powers which were apparently supposed to be so wonderful, but honestly the wonderful was debatable.
”F- you, Apollo,” he groaned under his breath, raising a hand to his aching head as if that would somehow help.
”Good morning to you too,” came the reply from the god.
Lucien wasn’t in the mood to engage with Apollo that morning. He had enough of a headache. Instead the boy looked over to Luka, relieved to see that she was doing okay. She’d looked better, but she was alive at least. He couldn’t be more glad about that.
Ariella too looked okay, though Chiara and Theo were suspiciously absent. Well, if they’d gotten out of bed he had to see that as a positive sign. Thank the gods everyone had survived the night before. If it weren’t for the mission group working together like they had, and if it weren’t for River…
River. He’d been great last night, and his surprise appearance had relieved Lucien more than he could say. But Lucien couldn’t help but remember that cut on his neck. Clearly not healing right, clearly still painful. River might not accept healing from Lucien, but the Apollo champion sure as hell didn’t think that meant he couldn’t be of any help at all.
If River needed time away, that was absolutely fine and Lucien respected it. But that didn’t mean River had to suffer physically like that while he was going through what he needed to go through emotionally.
So, moving as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the others, the Apollo champion collected together any and all supplies from the Medbay that he thought could possibly be useful, putting them all in a little bag. He was probably grabbing more than he needed, but better to be safe than sorry. Plus he didn’t really need to worry about supplies, he could get as much as he needed in the Pantheon usually.
His plan was to leave them outside River’s door. That way River didn’t have to talk if he didn’t want to and it saved any awkwardness for either of them. Seemed like the ideal solution, since he didn’t know if River wanted to talk at all.
So with that in mind, he quietly exited the Medbay and headed back towards the rooms. The corridor was so quiet, even for early morning. Lucien didn’t like the way the Pantheon felt with so many missing. Regardless, it didn’t take him too long to get to River’s room.
At that point the boy knocked softly on the door so that if River was awake he would come and get the supplies. And with that, Lucien placed the bag of supplies on the floor and prepared to try and leave before River could get to the door.
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 22, 2023 17:47:19 GMT -5
When Theo entered the kitchen, he made his way over to the cupboards in search of things he might need. Bowls, cereal boxes, silverware, etc. He piled all of what he was grabbing in his arms and moved to set them down on the counter, but his body jolted when he realized he wasn’t alone in the room anymore. Everything he was carrying went crashing to the ground in a loud heep. The spoons clattered on the ground and the bowls chipped in all sorts of places.
Theo stared at the mess, processing everything that just transpired as he glanced between Chiara and the pile. For a moment he didn’t move, or change his expression, but behind his eyes it looked like his social life died with the bowls.
“Morning,” the boy managed to muster before he bent down to grab what he could salvage. The boxes and silverware were fine, a few bowls were still able to be used, but a couple were broken beyond repair. What he could pick back up, he set onto the counter.
“Do you need help?”
He looked back over Chiara as she spoke, giving her a big toothy smile. “Help? Nonono I can handle this, you’re still injured and all.” Compared to her, Theo was much better off. He hadn’t changed out of the clothes from the night before, so his miraculously uninjured leg was still visible.
“You can just sit there and I’ll finish what I was doing alright? Everything’s fine.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 22, 2023 18:56:23 GMT -5
Chiara’s attempt not to scare Theo appeared to have gone less than successfully, if the shattered bowls and mess on the floor were anything to go by. Upon seeing the mess the girl immediately crouched to help him pick up the mess; after all, she was partly responsible for it for giving him a scare like that.
When he promised he didn’t need any help, Chiara wasn’t taking no for and answer. She just silently grabbed him some more bowls to replace the broken and damaged ones. She was going to be helpful in this process at least.
”I’m okay, I promise.” Chiara assured him ”It doesn’t hurt and it might be worse than the first time but this isn’t my first rodeo.”
The first time she’d lost consciousness, even if her arm had come out in better shape than it was now. She had some experience in the almost losing an arm to Fenrir department.
She wanted to get to the whole ‘so you cried when we praised you last night, what’s up with that?’ thing at some point or other, obviously not in those words. But she thought it was better to build up to it at least.
”How are you doing?” she questioned ”After last night? I know it was scary and you must be hurting after not getting healed.”
She didn’t know how he was doing well. Chiara honestly was astounded Theo hadn’t been more injured during his encounter with Fenrir. The wolf hadn’t exactly been gentle with him. |
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 23, 2023 4:14:42 GMT -5
Actually seeing River had not been part of the plan. Not that Lucien didn’t want to see him, he’d been very glad to see him last night, but it definitely hadn’t been his intention that morning.
The Ares champion didn’t look good, Lucien noted. Tired and like he was trying to make himself smaller, take up less space. That was unsettling, and seeing River like that was just sad. This guy had not been the same ever since that meeting, and even more so since the kidnapping. Not the guy who’d chase Lucien for teasing him, or the guy who had come back from the camping trip with joy around him so strong you could practically see it.
But hey, River was here and he was talking. That was good, at the very least, even if Lucien would have to go around him if he wanted to leave. He’d stopped at the sight of the older ascendant anyway, knowing he’d have to explain himself.
”Oh, I just…“ the blond began, looking down at the bag.
River seemed to catch sight of the bag at the same time, and thanked Lucien before stepping aside so Lucien could continue on his way if he wanted to.
”Don’t mention it,” Lucien answered ”I figured you wouldn’t want…” he held up his hand to reference his healing abilities ”but just ’cause you’re taking time for yourself right now doesn’t mean your body has to be in pain.”
He didn’t want River to be in pain. He was already in enough anyway.
River might have given him the opportunity to leave, but while they were both there, there was something else Lucien did want to say.
”Thank you for last night.” the Apollo champion continued ”I was struggling to be there the way they needed me to be. You got us back on track, got everybody out alive.”
Lucien wasn’t proud of how he’d reacted last night in hindsight, not until River came in and seemed to remind him to switch his head into a different headspace. Before that he’d been terrified for his friends and instead of doing what they needed, he’d been five seconds away from going to the battlefield himself. And Griffin would have gone with him, which would have put another person in danger because of him. The stress since the kidnapping had gotten to him in a way he hadn’t anticipated, and it was only River’s intervention that had saved that mission from potentially devolving into something very bad. He was an anchor for everyone in a way Lucien didn’t know if River saw in himself yet.
He knew he was young, rash and inexperienced. In some ways Cleo wasn’t wrong about him and their concerns about him as leader. But the others had deserved and needed better in that moment.
”I’m still learning with the leader shit,” he admitted, ”but you’re already there.”
He remembered River calling him a good leader after that awful meeting where the decision had been made about River and Laurie. He wasn’t sure he believed that, at least not yet. But he did believe River was; and not just a good leader, a great one in so many ways.
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 23, 2023 9:31:53 GMT -5
“That’s a morbid way to put it,” Theo replied, staring at Chiara’s arm when she spoke about it. How alarming it was that she could confidently say something like that happened more than once. That was something they had in common at least, almost being mauled to death by a wolf out for their blood. Twice. The fact it happened twice…
He didn’t want to think more on that subject and instead started to pick up the broken bowls from the floor. Despite his wishes, the other ascendant was helping by grabbing new bowls. He appreciated the gesture, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud.
As Theo was setting the broken bowls in the sink, he looked back at Chiara when she asked him how he was doing. He blinked, a bit dumbfounded. Why was she asking him that? She’d nearly got her arm ripped off yet she seemed more concerned about how he was doing. Compared to everyone else, he was the one she should be the least concerned about.
Leaning back on the sink, he finally spoke, “Like I said, I’m doing fine. I didn’t get as banged up as you guys did.” As proof, he raised up his torn pant leg so she could see. Despite being stuck between Fenrir’s teeth not hours ago, his leg looked completely unscathed. The only injury that could be seen was the gnarled scar he had behind his knee, one he got from Styx. Even the scar was strange, as it didn’t look like it was created half a year ago. It looked more recent than that, almost as if it didn’t heal very well when he got it.
“See? Not a scratch.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 23, 2023 10:15:37 GMT -5
Chiara shrugged at Theo’s comment that her words about her previous encounters with Fenrir were pretty morbid. He probably wasn’t wrong, but honestly she kind of had to try and have a casual attitude to it. If she didn’t she wasn’t sure how she’d cope with it.
She watched his eye go to her injured arm, and lifted her left hand to rub it over the injured area. She tried to ignore that she couldn’t feel it that well.
”It helps that I don’t really remember the first time that well.”
She could remember enough to know how terrifying it was. The smell of his breath, the bones littered around. The fear because she and Luka hadn’t even had weapons that time. The smell of blood.
But she couldn’t remember too much of her actual injury, since she lost consciousness. She remembered a bit of waking up, but by that point Lucien had already healed her and it was more the aftermath she remembered.
Theo declared he was fine, and when he showed Chiara his leg she was even more surprised than she had been before when she saw just how uninjured he was. If she hadn’t seen it herself she wouldn’t have believed he got off that lightly.
”How the hell did you manage that?” Chiara questioned as he took in the lack of injuries, ”It’s like you’re made of steel or something.”
It was pretty insane, because by all accounts one would have expected him to be injured. She was glad he was okay, but pretty impressed by how well he’d done.
But talking of last night, she did want to say something.
”I know it can be hard to take compliments,” she ventured, ”but we meant what we said last night.”
Hopefully that might open up the conversation about his reaction then night before when she and Ariella had complimented how well he had done. They wouldn’t have got through it without Theo - and Ariella too, of course. |
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 23, 2023 11:41:18 GMT -5
“Ha! I wish I could say the same thing,” Theo laughed humorlessly, a pained expression shadowing his face briefly before disappearing. Honestly, he wished he could forget his first encounter with Fenrir. Would certainly reduce the amount of nightmares he had from that day. In a moment he seemed to realize what he’d just said out loud, and his head lowered in embarrassment.
“Sorry, that wasn’t funny.”
It was relieving to know that she believed him when he said he was fine, because it was a puzzle he’d yet to figure out himself. “It hurt less than the last time as well, it's weird.” Maybe Fenrir really did get weaker since their last encounter, but that wouldn’t make sense given how injured the rest of them got. Whatever it was affected just him and he wasn’t sure what that meant.
Theo’s brow furrowed in offense at Chiara’s comment, his gaze landing to an empty space behind her instead of looking directly at her, “I can take a compliment. It's just… I can take a compliment.“ It was hard to put into words exactly what he felt, and he didn’t know if she was interested in listening. A lot to unpack and detangle when he’s just trying to make breakfast.
“But, thank you. And Ariella too.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 23, 2023 12:32:28 GMT -5
When Theo made his little joke, laughing a little before laughing and saying it wasn’t funny, Chiara gave him a small smile.
”It’s okay,” she commented softly to him ”It was funny.”
At this point who were the ascendants to police one another’s dark humour? It was how half of them even got by three days.
She set to helping him out together the breakfasts, or the best she could manage using only her left arm. She might as well help a little bit while they were talking, after all.
When he said this time hurt less than his last encounter, Chiara raised an eyebrow. She worked in quiet thought for a few moments, but there was only one conclusion to which she could really come.
”Maybe you should have a conversation with Balder about it,” the girl suggested ”if anyone would know it would be him.”
She had to assume it was an ability of Theo’s that the gods had neglected to explain to him. Fenrir had been as powerful as ever, her now doubly mangled arm attested to that. It had to be to do with Theo himself.
When he said he was able to take compliments but did not elaborate any further, the girl looked over at him. She didn’t want to push too much, but perhaps it would be worth it. They didn’t know one another that well, only from being mutual friends with Luka, so they’d need to get to know one another eventually.
”It’s just what?” she pushed, not too forcefully but with a curiosity. If he didn’t want to answer that was fine but she really was curious over what had prompted Theo’s reaction the night before.
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Demisexual
Leo
Surviving off Thai tea and Miguel O'hara
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Post by Leo on Aug 23, 2023 13:50:10 GMT -5
River brow furrowed at the comment about him being in pain. He straightened up a little and opened his mouth the protest when Ares spoke first.
"Don't lie now, you stubborn brat."
He'd been quiet since yesterday, so much so that River forgot he was there. He sounded tired too. Like he'd just been fighting for his life and was licking his wounds back home, wherever that was. And maybe he had. Or maybe River was rubbing off on him mentally.
River closed his mouth and looked over at his door and the bag of medicine again. Lucien was talking but he wasn't really listening to what was being said. Not until the last sentence left his mouth.
His hand tightened on his phone and his features hardened. "Come on," he ordered sharply and snatched the bag from the ground and unlocked his door. Stepping inside of his room, he didn't wait for Lucien to follow him he just started moving around the space.
There was a pile of clothes in one corner. Stained a dark red color on the pant legs and front of the shirts. There was another pair of clothes underneath that. The clothes he wore on the last mission he was on. Unsaveable from the blood that coated it.
Most of the weapons that came with the room were still hanging on the wall. Some of them- spears, daggers, and short swords- were imbedded in the punching bag towards the back of his room. A couple sticking out from the wall when he had missed. There was a lone knife on the nightstand next to his bed. A bed that looked like it hadn't been touched in a while.
River went to his desk and set the bag down on it. Rustling through he found the supplies he wanted to start with. "I don't know what I'm doing either, Lucien," he finally spoke through a sigh. His tone was quieter and heavier, showing just how tired he was. He didn't sleep much and if he did it was at his desk after writing out ideas or plans until exhaustion took him.
Moving toward the floor to ceiling mirrors in his room, River shrugged off his jacket and started unwrapping all the bandages on his arms, hands, and throat. "I'm just doing what I can at best. At worst I'm being selfish."
He flinched as he peeled away the old bandage on his throat and took a deep raspy breath. That only made him flinch even more and he curled into himself a bit, waiting for the pain the subside enough for him to keep going. "I heard Luka's scream down the hall, I thought they were all dead," he rasped and rested his arm against the mirror to keep him steady. His head hung, looking down at his feet as he attempted to take deep breathes.
"That mission was stupid."
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 23, 2023 16:03:20 GMT -5
Lucien followed River when the other boy instructed him to, though what he saw when he entered the room only made him more concerned about River. He knew the other body had been struggling, but the evidence he saw inside the room of just how bad he’d been was telling him everything.
Now Lucien recognised what he was seeing around him. He remembered helping his sister work through their mother’s piles of dirty laundry when she was going through a worse time. On her worst days they’d had to try just to get her to take a shower. He remembered not long after their father left wearing a shirt to school one day that had a burn on it because his sister hadn’t quite gotten the hang of ironing yet.
She’d been ill, very ill, and struggling. And Lucien could see how much pain River was in just by looking at this room. He was going through something Lucien couldn’t fully understand because how could he, without having gone through it?
He watched River begin to work on his injuries, though it was very hard not to offer to heal him. Lucien knew the other boy knew the offer was there, though, and if he wanted it he’d ask.
”No, you’re just hurting.” Lucien answered ”You can’t help anyone until you’ve helped yourself. You’re not selfish, River. What we did on Hallowe’en, that was selfish.”
He still felt guilty about that Hallowe’en. Of course they couldn’t have known, but they should never have gone. Not without telling someone at least. They’d been trying too hard to hold on to being children when it was obvious that was no longer an option for them.
Lucien sighed, sitting gently on River’s clearly unused bed.
River had been an amazing leader before everything happened and he stepped back, and the night before he’d been incredible.
”With the shit I’ve seen you do for other people, you’re the last person I’d describe as selfish anyway.” Lucien added.
River had looked out for everyone as a leader, no matter what Cleo’s opinions might have been. He’d been incredible on the battlefield. The way he looked out for people had shown itself more clearly than ever the night before.
The mission was stupid, he had to give River that one. It probably hadn’t been their brightest moment. As a recon mission it was badly designed in hindsight. And it hasn’t ended well.
He understood where River was coming from with the selfish thing. He’d once thought his mother was selfish, he’d once been so angry at her. But he understood now that she’d been hurting, not able to get the help she needed. That wasn’t selfish. In his opinion, his father was the only one who could be described as selfish.
He looked at the injury around River’s neck, feeling his stomach twist as he took in the cut as if with fresh eyes. He’d seen how bad it was but he was reminded of it in a fresh way seeing it now.
”I know you might not feel that way about it, but I’m proud of you for making it out of there alive that night. I don’t think anybody told you that.”
No, in fact all River had gotten was anger from Luka that he’d gotten back and none of the others had. That wasn’t fair.
”Focus on what you need for now. If and when you feel ready, we’d love to have you back, but not before.”
Okay, well that was enough of sounding like the cringiest self-help book ever.
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Post by Nariku The Avaricious on Aug 23, 2023 16:42:49 GMT -5
Ask Baldr? Theo scoffed at the suggestion, “I’ve tried asking and got nothing from it. He just says I need to “work for it”, or whatever that means.” A rather frustrating predicament he was in, having to figure this all out without any guidance. Especially when the god in question seemed to believe that he wouldn’t learn anything if he was just told.
“You’ve been on the cusp of figuring them out, Theodore. Don’t give up.” Baldr’s voice rang in his head, but it did little to comfort him.
Soon, he went back to sorting out breakfast with Chiara. A simple task of just pouring cereal into bowls, so simple in fact he started wondering if it was even enough. She started prying into what exactly he meant, and Theo chose to distract himself by taking out a loaf of bread to make toast.
He placed a few slices in the toaster and waited, his fingertips tapping the counter. The question still nagging in the back of his head. “It's just nothing, okay? Last night was just a lot and I don’t want to talk about it.”
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Demisexual
Leo
Surviving off Thai tea and Miguel O'hara
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Post by Leo on Aug 23, 2023 17:31:13 GMT -5
He managed to stand still long enough for his body to stop screaming at him and stood up to look at the wounds on his body. Still ugly mangled and bleeding. He wanted it to stop bleeding so badly.
He only glanced at Lucien when he said he was glad that he made it back. A grunt of appreciation for the words could be heard but not much more.
Picking up the old bandages, River walked past Lucien towards his trash bin. "Thats not what I meant," he started. Throwing the dirty gauze strips into the trash, he turned and passed his desk to get one of the items he forgot and made his way back to the mirror. "I'm calling myself selfish because I do things for other's approval alone. Because, I don't want to lose some of the first few people I could call my friends," He explained. He started cleaning the easier parts first like the gash on his bicep, the cut on his collarbone, and the cuts on his face.He reiterated what he had just said, emphasizing what he meant. "At best I am doing it because it's the right thing to do. At worst I am doing it because it benefits me."
He sighed and closed his eyes tightly. "And before you go on another speech i'm not saying my version of selfish is the worst thing in the world." His hand started shaking and he had to grab it to and press his thumb into his palm to try and ease the pain. His brow furrowed and he turned to fully face Lucien approaching slowly.
"What you did was selfish I agree but it was also childish. I'm not saying you can't go have fun. But, only a kid would runaway and prove someone else's point like that," he started. His voice was calm but deeply deeply angry. "You broke so much trust. Not just mine but everyone's." He stopped in front of him. Towering over and glaring at Apollo's champion.
He opened his arms to show the old scars and the fresh wounds. The ones that looked like they were healing and the ones that seemed just as bad as the day he got them. "Do you know how bad this hurts? Do you?" He asked, his lip twitching in agitation. His hand started shaking again and he tried to swallow. "It hurts to breathe, Lucien. Every word I say is torture and every time I swallow I want to die," he snapped. He took another big raspy breath and curled into himself again looking up at the ceiling trying to catch his breath.
"You and Luka keep putting me on this pedestal that I don't want to be on. Stop it. I'm not someone you should idolize i'm just someone that was thrown into this like all of you. I'm just trying to be selfish."
Backing up, he turned his back to the boy and snatched up the new bandages to start applying them in front of the mirror.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 23, 2023 18:39:55 GMT -5
Lucien listened to the raw words that came from River then, chest tightening when River told him how much trust he’d broken that Hallowe’en. How childish he’d been. Lucien knew it, he knew it all.
”I know that.” Lucien responded, swallowing, ”Believe me I haven’t stopped thinking about how stupid it was. I’ve torn myself to shreds over the fact that I could have been there and I wasn’t. I’m the healer, I don’t just get to not be there when people need me or mess up because then people die. And I’ve worked my ass off to try and in some way make up for that night. So you don’t have to tell me, I know. And I’m so sorry that you paid for my mistakes.”
Lucien had never put himself under pressure like this before. The pressure of being the healer, the person who was supposed to be able to just fix everything. The person who was responsible for making sure people didn’t die.
Lucien’s words about being put on a pedestal were something Lucien hadn’t considered before. He was so used to having so little expected of him that it hadn’t occurred to him just how much pressure he was putting River under.
”I’m sorry about that, too.” Lucien replied ”It isn’t fair to you. I know you’re figuring this out like the rest of us and you’re not perfect, I never meant to make you feel like you had to be.”
He’d looked up to River, certainly he could admit that. But he’d never meant to put too many expectations on the other boy. In fact, he’d fought for River when Cleo tried to expect such ridiculous standards of him in that meeting. He’d tried to stop Luka talking to him the way she had on Hallowe’en about him not ‘going down with the ship’ or whatever she’d said. But still without realising he’d contributed to what River was feeling.
”I know I haven’t done a good job at proving Cleo wrong about me, but I’m trying. I’m trying to be better. I haven’t been the greatest friend to you but I want to have your back.”
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 24, 2023 3:39:15 GMT -5
Prove it. Lucien had a lot to prove these days. He had to prove to Cleo that he was capable of being a leader, and he had to prove to River that he really did want to have his back.
Maybe he wouldn’t be a leader much longer anyway. He was on probation, a trial period, essentially. Cleo had made it very clear that the status of him and Luka as leaders would be re-evaluated once the kidnapped ascendants were retrieved. Maybe they’d decide he wasn’t worthy of it. Maybe that would be a good thing.
”I will. Though if Cleo has their way you won’t have to worry about working with Luka and I as leaders once this is all over.”
He wanted to prove Cleo wrong but he was worrying more and more that they might have been right. Maybe he was too young, childish, irresponsible. Maybe he wasn’t capable of being a leader. He’d never wanted it, perhaps it might be a weight off his shoulders.
He didn’t know. But he did know that he wanted to try his best not to give them the satisfaction of being right. And gods knew he wanted to show River that he did care about being there for him, that he did want to try to be a better friend.
River told him to go, and Lucien stood. He wasn’t going to wait when River had dismissed him. Besides, their conversation had gone far from well. Not better than he’d expected it to, but not great regardless. River’s anger with him was more than justified, but it had hit him with the reality of what he’d done all over again.
Lots of people were pretty mad at him after that Hallowe’en. And he deserved it but gods did he hate the way he kept messing everything up. And gods did he hate that he was part of the reason River was suffering so badly.
”Alright. If you need more I wrote out what shelf they’re from in the supply store.” Lucien explained, nodding towards the bag of supplies.
With that the boy departed, closing River’s door behind him as he stepped outside into the corridor. He stood for a moment, taking a deep breath.
”Lucien?” Apollo ventured uncertainly.
That conversation had been hard. Seeing how hurt River was, that was harder. Lucien didn’t even know how to feel coming out of it.
But he was glad River had said what he needed to say. That was important.
”I’m not in the mood.” Lucien sharply dismissed his guide, turning to head to his own bedroom.
He needed to clear his head, sort himself out. And then he would be trying to figure out how the hell the ascendants were supposed to move forward after that dreadful mission.
He’d told Cleo that night that he was doing this “for River and for them. Not for you.”
Now was the time to prove it.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 24, 2023 4:16:13 GMT -5
When Theo said he didn’t want to talk about it, the girl shook her head. She totally understood him not wanting to answer.
”It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.” the girl answered. She didn’t know Theo that well, the last thing she should have done was make him uncomfortable by asking questions like that.
When he mentioned the Baldr thing and the god wanting Theo to ‘work for’ the answer regarding this strange new development, she frowned a little in thought.
”Interesting,” she answered ”Well, if you ever want to stop by the library maybe I could help you see if there are any books that might help you answer your question. Or maybe the training rooms might be the better place to figure it out.”
Speaking of the training rooms, Chiara needed to get back into them at some point. Once she was feeling a bit better, of course. But she needed to try and train with her non-dominant arm and perhaps try and work on gradually strengthening her dominant one again. Until her right arm regained functionality (if it did), she’d be useless unless she trained with her left hand.
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Post by ƤαƖƖαѕ ✧ on Aug 24, 2023 5:06:02 GMT -5
Dillon had packed his things in the small bag he’d taken with him to Italy. He left behind nothing but his share of the group’s money; they'd been using the stash of euros to pay for things while in Italy but he had no use for it back at the Pantheon and Irene and Enzo would need it.
Then the boy had said his goodbyes, reiterating his demand that Irene and Enzo keep him updated on events in Italy, and that was that.
He’d used his key to open a portal, and the Hera champion took in the shimmering light with a mix of emotions he couldn’t pick apart. Relief to be returning home, worry about what he would be walking into and about the safety of those he was leaving behind.
Apprehension, mostly. He felt so nervous. Explaining the events of the group’s time in Venice and why he was the only one returning was not something he was looking forward to.
But he closed his eyes, and stepped forward to he enveloped in that by-now familiar stomach-twisting sensation of falling.
Once the feeling subsided, he stepped out into very same room he’d left on Hallowe’en to travel to Venice. That felt like a million years ago now. He might have wanted to stay in Venice with Irene and Enzo but his relief at coming home was more than he could explain.
Out in Venice they’d lived in fear that Gwen or another of the exiled would show up again. That they’d attack while Irene was vulnerable. He couldn’t express how happy he was that for a moment that fear could subside - for him, at least.
But he had to do everything he could to make sure that Enzo and Irene, whom he’d left behind, were safe too.
It didn’t take him long to realise just how quiet the Pantheon seemed to be. He might not have Chiara’s instinct for danger, but he could feel something was wrong here. The place didn’t feel… right.
Just how badly had the other mission gone?
He knew it had gone badly, that some people had been taken, but he was getting the creeping feeling that however bad he thought things were, in actuality they were far worse.
He had to find Cleo, and quickly. But where on earth where they?
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